Marijuana DUII arrests in Oregon surged 163 percent in the first six months of recreational legalization, according to the Oregon State Police. DUII, driving under the influence of intoxicants, is the term Oregon uses to describe alcohol and drug impaired driving. Authorities say the lack of systematic data collection about marijuana-impaired driving is the biggest gap in the state’s preparation for recreational legalization. A report on the topic is due to the legislature next year.
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An analysis of marijuana-related DUI arrests nationwide by a retired researcher for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concludes, “Anyone who says marijuana is a harmless drug is blowing smoke.”
California, where marijuana is legal for medical use, has documented 1,500 marijuana-related driver fatalities in the past five years. Nationwide, in the 23 states and DC where the drug is legal for medical use, more than 1,000 such fatalities occurred in the single year of 2014.

“Normally, any drug with so many deaths, injuries, and associated problems would be pulled from the market by FDA,” says Al Crancer, Jr, lead author of the analysis.

He predicts that marijuana legalization in more states will “cause a tidal wave of motor vehicle and other fatalities and soon rival alcohol as the No. 1 traffic safety problem.”